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When Jason Danvers’s sister shows up in the middle of the night asking for a favor, his immediate impulse is not to get involved. He’d caught glimpses of her around town and convinced himself it couldn’t be her – it’s been five years, after all, and their parting that last time wasn’t under the best of circumstances. But Hayden swears all of that has changed. She has a job, she’s been sober for some time, and now she’s looking to make amends for her past.

All Hayden asks is that Jason and his wife watch her daughter for two days. Should be easy. And Jason hasn’t seen his niece for quite some time, so it would be a nice chance to bond with her. But things quickly go downhill. An old classmate reports seeing Hayden hanging with her old crowd, possibly drinking once again, and then she sends a strange text to her daughter before breaking all contact. Jason wants to give his sister the benefit of the doubt and wait out the two days, but when Hayden doesn’t show up to pick up her daughter it’s clear something has gone very wrong.

David Bell sure knows how to build a suspenseful story. The Forgotten Girl begins with a teen Jason being picked up by the police after a fight with his best friend. Flash forward to present day and we find that said friend left town that very night and hasn’t been seen since. In fact, a classmate has been trying to find him and starts picking Jason’s brain about his whereabouts.

It’s understandable, then, that Jason is feeling a little nostalgic and a little emotional about his past when Hayden appears. And then when Hayden disappears, Jason’s determined not to lose another person from his life.

Bell’s ending unfortunately didn’t quite mesh with the pacing or the tension of the rest of the book. All in all it’s a fine read, but the finish was somewhat underwhelming.

10/14 Becky LeJeune

THE FORGOTTEN GIRL by David Bell. NAL Trade (October 7, 2014). ISBN 978-0451417527. 448p.

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A novel set in the Pacific Northwest beginning with a hunt for a wolf that has been killing and eating sheep and other domestic animals.  The hunt fades into the background of the book as ex Sheriff Patrick Drake is released from 12 years of incarceration in prison into the watchful eye of his son Bobby who himself works as a deputy Sheriff.  Patrick’s wife had passed away prior to the opening of the story, and while Patrick tried to continue to raise his family he soon fell into major monetary problems.  His solution was to hook up with some rather unsavory men and was then convicted of one of the biggest crimes that had occurred in the area.

Patrick moves in with Bobby and Bobby’s wife until he can get “on his feet”  His son has his own problems in attempting to build a life with the background guilt of his father’s past haunting him.

Huge problems arise for all when it becomes known that Patrick hid a large quantity of money from the crimes committed before going to jail.  Two convicts who were jailed at the same time as Patrick are aware of the hidden money, break out of jail and start hunting the funds.  The crimes stemming from their breakout and the pressure to find the money cause a rampage of murder and terror.

Waite’s handling of events in the book is excellent, fast moving and keeping his readers glued to the pages.  A must read and one that recommends Waite for the forefront of adventure writers.  And of course the problem of the wolf becomes solved in the course of the action and satisfies the desire for a logical ending.

10/14 Paul Lane

SOMETIMES THE WOLF by Urban Waite. William Morrow (October 21, 2014). ISBN: 978-0062216915. 288p.

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This is the 7th book Cleave has written featuring Christchurch, New Zealand detective Theodore Tate. It is absorbing, filled with constant action, and touches on the psychological need of families of crime victim’s desires for revenge. A common thread among people affected by criminal acts perpetrated against their loved ones is “Just give me five minutes alone with the animal that did this” Paul Cleave sets up a series of crimes orchestrated to grant just that wish for people whose families have been touched by a crime against one of their own.

Tate has had his five minutes in a previous book. A drunk driver killed his daughter in an auto accident, and Tate takes it upon himself to march the perpetrator into a wooded area and kill him. The first incident in this book involves a rapist let out of prison early for good behavior, spotting his victim and returning to her house. He is stopped and the victim is allowed to exact her five minutes. Tate is assigned the case when the body is discovered on a railroad track crushed by a train. He questions the lady that was raped, and determines that she didn’t do it. Than several other “victims” are helped to get their five minutes by person or persons unknown.

The feelings of the people helped to exact their revenge is a most important part of the story. Is it that easy to go ahead, get revenge and continue on with your life knowing that you have committed a crime even if in revenge for one committed against you? Cleave leaves us with very logical and assorted psychological reactions to that question. Early on the identify of the individual guiding those victims to revenge is revealed, and this factor helps the reader in understanding the various emotions rather than spoiling the narrative.

Excellent choice of theme and description of the psychology going into the actions. Tate, the principal protagonist, is very well fleshed out, with his actions and thoughts extremely logical and fitting his character with both his flaws and attributes brought out. I am certainly looking forward to reading more novels by Paul Cleave.

10/14 Paul Lane

FIVE MINUTES ALONE by Paul Cleave. Atria Books (October 21, 2014). ISBN: 978-1476779157. 464p.